Bad Lab - DIY or Dye

Info

BadLab
DIY or DIE
Is an transdisciplinary workshop led by Corinna Mattner and Maya Minder on the topic of coloring fabrics with wild herbs and bacteria, which takes place in the context of the exhibition UNFINISHED BUSINESS at Sattelkammer, Bern.

We will approach the art of dyeing by means of DIYbio methods and old knowledge about plantdye and natural coloring. We use plants, bacteria and ferments directly to dye fabrics and create uncontrolled design and patterns. In the framework of the theme of the exhibition „unfinished business“ the aspect of empowerment by DIY is celebrated threw the moment of liberation - Just do it! Embroidery hoops stand as a symbol of the time we save, which we take as free time by growing beyond the collective stick tradition of manual work, no longer embroidering the fabric with rules and slogans, but use nature itself, its signs leaves to create traces of stories.

This workshop is a lot about the playful approach of learning and unlearning threw female and sensory and experimental perception. We try not to follow strict protocols and fix applied methods, but rather dig into the diversity that nature offers of untoxic plants and microbes, rewriting strings of (His)stories in search for new practice in old hidden eastern and western history, when human capability of understanding and perceiving the world threw science were closer linked together.

History from Natural to Synthetic Dyes

There are two types of dyes. Natural, those come from animal or plant sources and synthetic, those that are manmade. If you were trying to dye clothing before synthetic dyes were discovered in 1856, you would have had to use natural dyes. Some of the most known are the animal dyes tyrian purple and cochineal and the plant dyes madder and indigo or saffflower in Europe.
Tyrian purple was one of the moste desired natural dyes made of snails. As legend has it, a sheep dog belonging to Herules was walking along the beach in Tyre. He bi into a small mollusk which turned his mouth the color of coagulated blood. This became known as royal or tyrian purple. It brought great prosperity to Tyre around 1500 BC and for centuries it was the most expensive animal dye money could buy, worn by Cesaer, Cleopatra and entire european king houses.
Corchineal is a crimson dye made from cactus insects. It was introduced to Europe from Mexico by the Spanish sea voyagers. It was used as cloth dye, artists’ pigment, and much later as a food dye. This is also required a huge seasonal harvest seeing as 17’000 dried insects produced a single ounce of dye. Plant dyes are generally cheaper and in greater supply. The most common being madder red and indigo blue. Madder came from the roots of 35 species of plants found in Europe and Asia. It has been found in the cloth of mummies and was the first dye to be used as camouflage.

Animal Fibers

Plant-derived vegetable fibres

The principal chemical component of vegetable fibers is cellulose, with varying amounts of lignin and hemicelluloses also usually present; thus the fibers are also referred to as cellulosic or lignocellulosic.
Cotton
Linen
Ramie
Hemp
Raffia
Jute

On Natural Dye and sources:

Natural Products that give dye:

Wildherbs that create natural patterns:

Herbstzeitlose
Schafgarbe
Hexenröhrlinge
Spitzwegrich
Frauenmantel

Chemicals used in Synth Dye:

Synthetic color agents are largely produced threw petrol industry and its chemicals. It is very toxic and polluting our natural water sources and ecosystems. Beyond the fashion industry synthetic dye and color industry is a shadow industry that reveals the real impact and scales in ecological pollution.